Father Knows Best
by Tracy Diane Miller
Summary: This very short story was inspired by "Dad."


Father Knows Best  
  
Summary: This very short story was inspired by "Dad."  
  
Disclaimer: Early Edition characters belong to whoever created them. No copyright infringement intended. No profit is being made. Some of the dialogue that appears in this story belongs to the writer of the Early Edition episode "Dad."  
  
Author: Tracy Diane Miller E-mail address: tdmiller82@hotmail.com  
  
Father Knows Best  
  
Maybe Chuck was right and it was a big secret to keep from the people who changed his diapers, but what choice did he have? He couldn't exactly go up to them and say "Mom, Dad. Guess What? I get tomorrow's newspaper today with a cat" and then go about explaining his life saving mission. He could just envision his parents' reaction. First they would stare at him as if he had grown two heads. Then Mom would probably approach him and feel his forehead to confirm that he wasn't running a fever. Even if he didn't feel warm, she would insist that he needed to come home for a rest. She would want to put him in bed, tuck in the covers, and feed him chicken soup. She would act like his revelation were some stressed induced delusion that could be conquered through maternal pampering. And Dad...well, Dad would applaud his imagination, perhaps call him a ''chip off the old block" and praise him with a "that's my boy."  
  
They wouldn't believe him.  
  
Or, maybe what he was more afraid of was that they would believe him. Mom would cringe at the prospect of him getting hurt going out there helping people. He could remember so vividly when he was in high school and he wanted to play sports. Dad had readily given his permission, but Mom was another story. Convincing Mom was like convincing hostile nations to meet at The Hague for peace negotiations. It took a lot of begging to insure her agreement; he had even thrown in the most adorable puppy dog look he could muster. He had learned years ago that it was difficult for Mom to resist "that" look. Finally, she gave her permission, but that didn't mean that she had abandoned her worrying. She didn't care how old he was or how tall he had become because as far as she was concerned, he would always be her "baby", that beautiful helpless infant she had held in her arms all those years ago. He knew that she loved him and understood how hard it was for letting go, but her overprotectiveness drove him crazy. He would never forget that time when he was practicing with his team mates on the football field and it started to rain. He thought that his eyes were playing tricks on him when he saw the petite, yet determined figure approaching. He knew that he would die from embarrassment on the spot when he realized that figure was Mom and that it her hands was his rain gear. This was not the kind of attention that a sixteen-year-old boy wanted in the presence of his team mates. She insisted that she didn't want him to catch a cold. Catching a cold wasn't what he was worried about; what he "caught" that day besides for the football was endless teasing from the guys about why he should listen to his "mommy".  
  
If Mom knew about The Paper, she would worry about him incessantly. But in a way, Dad would be worse. Sometimes Dad was like a man in kid's clothing. He knew that Dad would view The Paper as this wonderful adventure that he could help with, an opportunity for some quality father and son bonding, Hobson and Hobson, Rescuers Extraordinaire. He loved Dad very much but whenever Dad tried to help, disaster struck. He would never forget that science project when he was a kid, correction, that explosive science project. They were all lucky to get out of that one alive. He was the only kid whose exploration of the wonderment of science brought out the Hickory Fire Department! Then there was the time that Dad told him that the Pop Warner football team would notice him if he did something memorable. Instead, it was Dad who did something memorable by stealing the other team's mascot. And he got noticed all right, noticed enough to be blamed for the crime and get suspended from his team.  
  
No, telling Dad about The Paper was inviting trouble. Fate had her hands full enough in entrusting him, a well meaning yet novice ex-stockbroker turned hero without adding a well-meaning yet unconventional parent to the mix. In this case, ignorance was bliss.  
  
Or, maybe not. Maybe Fate endorsed Chuck's belief that he needed parental support to lighten the load. How else could one explain the story 'Trailer Fire Ignites Block Long Blaze' and the offending trailer turn out to be a familiar gray monster? Of all the trailers in all the towns and Dad had to show up in his! The recognizable voice and bear hug followed the unmistakable aroma of burnt gnocchi saturated the early morning air.  
  
He swore Chuck to secrecy and he had to make sure that Dad didn't discover his secret. However, he learned that he wasn't the only one keeping secrets. Dad's sudden appearance wasn't just about a need to visit his only son. He was shocked to find out that Mom had kicked Dad out of the house. After 35 years what could Dad have possibly done to make Mom so mad? He got his answer when he realized that Dad had committed a cardinal sin. Dad had insulted Mom's china. He knew growing up that you never, never, ever insult Mom's china. When he called Mom hoping to get his folks to mend fences, Mom wasn't very receptive. Dad flashed him a "I told you so look" before saying "I guess it's just the two of us, pal. So which closet is mine?"  
  
Dad had always been the rock of Gibraltar. Well, he just had to be careful not to allow the rock to roll onto his secret. This was easier said than done. The next morning Dad had turned off his alarm clock and retrieved The Paper. He stammered when Dad asked him what he did with himself all day since he didn't have a job. And he panicked when he realized that he had today's paper instead of his early edition. Dad explained that he got rid of the other paper because there was something wrong with it; it was cockamamie with the wrong headline and the wrong date. Dad's suspicions were mounting after he paid a homeless man fifty bucks for The Paper. He wasn't sure if Dad bought his excuse that he was a collector. Balancing heroics with an inquisitive father wasn't going to be easy especially with Dad shadowing him all day. Fortunately, Dad assumed that he was going on a job interview and allowed him time alone. Yet, preventing injury to a child by "saving" a baseball autographed by Willie Mays baseball trapped in a dumpster and Dad finding him in the dumpster adorned with garbage fueled Dad's suspicions. Then a chance run in on the street with Jennifer, the young woman he had met last night in the woods when he prevented her overprotective father from bludgeoning her boyfriend, her mention of him looking at a paper, Dad grabbing The Paper from his hands, coupled with Dad witnessing a story live (poultry accident causing traffic frenzy) and the proverbial cat was out of the bag. Just as he feared Dad insisted on helping him with The Paper. They survived the simple stories, but later Dad went behind his back and handled The Paper alone after he promised not to. The end result was a disgruntled bomber blowing up a video store. For him, it was the explosive science project all over again.  
  
Perhaps he had been a bit hard on Dad but Dad was trying to find himself through him. It wasn't until he was abducted at gun point and forced into a car by Nick, Jennifer's Dad (who assumed that he was his daughter's boyfriend), Nick deciding to make an example out of him, and Dad rescuing him and giving a passionate speech about parenthood, that he understood. With all of Dad's faults, he had been blessed. He had gotten the father that he needed and that was more than enough.  
  
The End. 


End file.
